Knights let one slip away

NORTH BERWICK, Maine — Of the six games remaining on its regular-season schedule, the Noble High School boys basketball team considered at least three winnable and maybe four.

One of those games was Monday night against Gorham. After a strong first half, however, the Knights couldn’t finish what they started in a 61-55 loss that damaged their playoff hopes.

“It’s basically win or go home,” said Noble first-year coach Kenny Kimber. “That’s the way we treated it. We have to go out and put it all on the floor the next five games now. There’s no turning back.”

Noble and Gorham entered the contest with identical 4-8 records in Western Maine Class A. The Rams were in 11th place in the latest Heal Point standings and the Knights were 13th.

They are two of five teams fighting for the final two tournament spots. The top 11 qualify for the postseason.

Noble’s job became that much tougher when Gorham (5-8) scored the final six points in the game to snap a 55-all tie and send the Knights (4-9) to their fourth straight loss.

“The first half we played hard,” Kimber said. “We did what we needed to do. We had momentum. We had energy. We had a little bit of emotion and heart, whereas in the second half it just wasn’t there.”

Point guard Sean Jackson, who sat out half the third quarter after picking up his fourth foul, paced Noble with 13 points, including eight in the fourth quarter.

With the Knights trailing 42-37 after three, Jackson sparked a comeback with a pair of 3-pointers and a pull-up deuce off the glass that made it 53-all with 2:41 left.

The junior co-captain, who missed most of the second quarter with three fouls, came up with a steal at the other end on the Rams’ next possession.

But when he tried to bring the ball back upcourt he was called for an offensive foul under his own basket with 2:04 remaining.

“It hurts because we have to have other people bring up the ball,” Kimber said, “and people play a little bit out of their positions.”

With Jackson out of the game, the Knights managed only a pair of free throws by Jake Coffey the rest of the way. They came with 1:17 left and tied the game (55-55) for the fourth time in the fourth quarter.

But Gorham’s Brian Darling transformed a second-chance offensive rebound into a three-point play with a minute left and added another layup with 27 seconds to play that made it 60-55.

“Boxing out was big,” Kimber said. “He missed the first shot but we let him get two or three rebounds in a row. No box out. No communication. That was a key. Eventually he’s going to make one of those.”

Senior Adam Della-Piana and junior Grayson Waterman finished with 11 points apiece for Noble, which led by as many as 11 points late in the first half.

“They have three guys that can beat you (Jackson, Waterman and Della-Piana),” said Gorham coach Ryan Chicoine. “We knew coming into the game those were the guys we had to watch out for. They’re very good basketball players.” The Knights helped their cause by making 13 of their first 14 fouls shots and finished the first half 14 for 18 from the line.

Midway through the third quarter, however, the Rams had erased all of a seven-point halftime deficit. They outscored Noble, 18-6, in the third.

“Noble hasn’t won in many years,” Kimber said. “When these kids get in this situation it’s new to them. When it’s new you rush, you get anxious and you get nervous.”

The Rams led by as many as six (44-38) early in the fourth quarter when Jackson drained the first of his two threes in the period that triggered a 7-0 Noble run and left the Knights with a 45-44 lead with 5:46 left.

Neither team led by more than two points until Darling converted his three-point play with one minute remaining in the game.

Darling finished with a game-high 15 points, 13 in the fourth quarter.

“We have to put a whole game together,” Kimber said. “It’s frustrating but the kids have come a long way since the beginning of the year. They know how to fight now and they know how to be a little bit more competitive. Now we’ve just got to learn how to finish it.”